Bill Clinton on the GOP Obsession With Obamacare

Via Addicting Info: Former President Bill Clinton appeared on This Week. Clinton remarked about the Republican Party's obsession with the Affordable Care Act.

“This bill [Obamacare] has already produced a lot of good results. Look, they are desperate for this bill to fail. Because, if it’s not a failure, everything they’ve been telling us since 1980, “big government’s bad,” is wrong. They so badly want it to fail. Can you remember a time in your lifetime when a major political party was sitting around just begging for America to fail? I don’t know what’s going to happen. I would be shocked if it fails. I just think when all these dire predictions don’t come out, if they don’t, I believe that pretty sooOn, within the next several years, this will belie Medicare and Medicaid. It will be a normal part of our lives ad people will be glad it’s there.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that enrollment on has been extended. Go to Healthcare.gov to find out is you qualify.

Joel Award: John Boehner

It is time to give out the Joel Award. The award goes any celebrity, pundit, blogger or politician that purposely contradicts himself or herself.

House Speaker John Boehner went on This Week and told George Stephanopoulos that President Barack Obama must meet his demands on either delaying or repealing the Affordable Care Act.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So are you saying that if he continues to refuse to negotiate, the country is going to default?

BOEHNER: That’s the path we’re on. The president canceled his trip to Asia. I assumed — well, maybe he wants to have a conversation. I decided to stay here in Washington this weekend. He knows what my phone number is. All he has to do is call.

Stephanopoulos pointed out to Boehner that the Speaker originally said he was not going to put a repeal or defunding of Obamacare into the CR bill.

Stephanopoulos played a clip of Boehner saying,”It’s pretty clear that the president was re-elected. Obamacare is the law of the land.” Adding,”If we were to put Obamacare into the CR and send it over to the Senate, we were risking shutting down the government. That is not our goal.”

The ABC host explained, “So right there, you say that’s not your goal. You don’t want to put Obamacare on the CR. You did it.”

Boehner has lost control of his caucus. The tea party members have taken over the House of Representatives. Boehner can introduce a clean CR bill and get the votes from Democrats and Republicans that are begging for an end to the shutdown. Boehner won't do that.

Triangulation Man: Debt Ceiling Aftermath

President Barack Obama wanted to appear centrist. Which is why Obama caved on the debt ceiling deal. The Real Clear Politics poll tracker shows Obama's job approval rating dipping to 44 percent. To make matters worse, the stock market went down 512.76 points. Translation: the gains the market made in 2011 were wiped out. Obama admitted yesterday that the debt ceiling crisis has hurt the economy.

"Unfortunately the debt ceiling crisis over the last month, I think, has had an unnecessary negative impact on the economy ... as well," he said.

My question is why did Obama placed being portrayed as centrist? I don't buy that Obama or Congressional Republicans were seriously concerned about the budget deficit or national debt. Otherwise, both sides would not have allowed the FAA to lose $1 billion in tax revenue. Obama threw the Social Security surplus on the table. Republicans took corporate jet tax breaks off the table. The White House thinks pissing off their base will make them appear more centrist. Republicans are terrified that their base will turn on them if they do anything that smells like a tax increase. The truth is most voters care about Social Security and could care less about corporate jet tax breaks. This tells you how far disconnected Washington is from reality.

Former President Bill Clinton prepared himself for Republicans using the debt ceiling against him.

“Here’s what happened, as I remember – but let me back up a second,” Clinton said. “I have read accounts of that time where people at Treasury have been interviewed, and they say they did look into [the president's authority to raise the debt ceiling without congressional approval].” As for the Republicans, “they did think about doing that" -- withholding approval of a higher limit -- "and I knew they were thinking about it.” But the question ultimately did not arise for Clinton, he says, because his opponents in Congress decided “they didn’t want to get caught” in a position where they appeared to be repudiating the debt incurred by their own party’s two previous presidents.

“The reason that raising the debt limit is so unpopular is that people think you’re voting to keep [increasing] deficit spending, instead of voting to honor obligations that were already incurred,” he said. “I think [the Gingrich Republicans] figured I’d be smart enough to explain to the American people that they were refusing to pay for the expenses they had voted for when Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush were president. And that would make ‘em look bad.”

How the 14th amendment argument would have played out is unknown. What is known is Clinton used the behind the scenes threat of executive power and telling the American people that the debt was created from Republican presidential spending. People will argue that Clinton was dealing with a different congress than Obama.

If you mean the Congress that had members that would later try to impeach Clinton out of office then you are correct. Republicans held both the House and Senate during the 1995 government shutdowns. Like the tea party elected officials under Boehner and McConnell, the Contract With America Republicans were insane. George Stephanopoulos detailed how Dole gave up trying to control his caucus and went to Iowa to campaign. Gingrich complained to the Clinton White House that he couldn't control his newly elected radicals. This is exactly what Clinton wanted and how he got the Republicans to cave. Boehner had trouble passing his own debt ceiling plan with his own caucus. It would have been easy for someone with Clinton's skills to play Boehner, Cantor, McConnell and the tea party Republicans off of each other.

What enabled Republicans is they knew Obama would flinch and want to appear centrist. Sen. Tom Coburn rightfully said that Obama would sign any debt ceiling bill that reached his desk.



The DCCC wants to attack House Republicans for supporting Medicare cuts. Apparently, the DCCC is forgetting that the President actively pushed for Medicare cuts in the debt deal. The so-called Super Congress will likely support entitlement cuts. If and when that happens several Democrats will have a hard time explaining why they voted for the debt ceiling deal.

I am not excusing the Republicans reckless behavior for one second. However, Obama was elected to "change" the way things are done in Washington. Not use Dick Morris' triangulation playbook as a means to govern. I wrote posts before Obama was elected president that he is not a progressive. I didn't expect to agree with Obama on every policy. I was expecting Obama to govern with competency. Watching Obama govern with super-majorities was painful. Government has now become utterly incompetent. Obama certainly can't be blamed for everything, but this do nothing Congress and stock market crash is on his watch.

Reality to White House: Freshmen Republicans Want Government Shutdown

Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers,
said the Republicans would never shutdown government.

“The reason you haven’t seen the private sector getting worked up about it — I don’t think the evidence is the markets believe there’s going to be a shutdown,” Goolsbee said Thursday at a breakfast sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor. “You saw the leaders of both parties in both houses say — all four of them — they’re going to do what it takes, that they don’t think there’s going to be a shutdown.”

If Florida's Tea Party-elected freshmen delegation had their way there will be a government shutdown.

Rep. Allen West

"There’s a very good possibility that government will shut down. I know the Democrats have their talking points lined up. They’ll blame us for everything. What will we do?"

Rep. Rich Nugent

"All I can tell you is this: If you’re looking for us to blink, it’s not going to happen."

The three shutdowns in 1995 hurt Newt Gingrich politically. Gingrich lost control of his caucus and couldn't get the votes to fund the government. George Stephanopoulos recounts in his book "All Too Human" that former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole told the White House he gave up trying to get the House to pass a budget. Dole left Washington to campaign. It will be interesting to see if Boehner can control his caucus.

Former White House Treasury Sec. Robert Rubin told President Bill Clinton, during the shutdowns, that the United States could financially default. If these Republicans were really worried about fiscal issues they wouldn't be talking about a shutdown.

Louie Gohmert Channels Robert Byrd

Rep. Louie Gohmert claims repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" threatens the existence of America. Never mind that Israel allows gays to openly serve in the military. I doubt Gohmert would tell pro-Israeli conservatives that Israel's existence is about to end. The general consensus is Israel has a formidable military.

GOHMERT: To my friend who said that history would judge us poorly, I would submit if you would look thoroughly at history -- and I'm not saying it's cause and effect -- but when militaries throughout history of the greatest nations in the world have adopted the policy that "fine for homosexuality to be overt" -- you can keep it private and control your hormones fine, if you can't, that's fine too -- they're toward the end of their existence as a great nation.

Gohmert is making the same argument that the late Sen. Robert Byrd made to President Bill Clinton about ending the ban of gays in the military. Byrd gave a rambling spiel to Clinton about Tiberius and Caesar and the fall of the Roman empire. George (Stephanopoulos documented Byrd's exchange with Clinton in his book "All Too Human.") Byrd is also a well known bigot and former member of the Klu Klux Klan.

Gohmert might want to use a more orignail talking point.

Bush Tax Cuts Creating Jobs A Myth

Rep. Michele Bachmann supports extending tax cuts for the rich. Bachmann told George Stephanopoulos that extending unemployment benefits is a massive tax increase. Bachmann claims letting the tax cuts for the rich expire would hurt a plumber "and his brother." Republicans are still using Joe the Plumber as an analogy. Does anyone know a plumber who makes over a million dollars-a-year.

John Thume promotes the debunk myth of trickle down economics. If those Bush tax cuts are such a job creator than why did the Bush years produced 3 million new jobs.

Obama's Passive Case Against Koran Burning

I watched George Stephanopoulos ask President Barack Obama his feelings on Pastor Terry Jones, of the Dove World Outreach Center, plans to burn 200 Korans on September 11th. Obama speaks in a low and unconfident sounding voice. There is no forcefulness in his voice. The best he can do is wish Jones will "listen to his better angels." Jones said he is willing to die in order to burn the Koran. The angels have left the Space Ship Terry Jones long ago.

Obama sounds like he is afraid he will offend someone or get accused of being a Muslim if he comes out against Koran burning. The people that would be offended would never vote for Obama. The Dove World Outreach Center has been universally condemned by religious leaders, Gen. David Petraeus and even Sarah Palin.Hillary Clinton did a better job articulating the Obama administration's position on the Koran burning.

Quote of the Day

"If the election is a referendum on are people satisfied about the economy as it currently is, then we're not going to do well."

President Barack Obama, in an interview with George Stephanopoulos.

White House v. Fox News

White House senior adviser David Axelrod told George Stephanopoulos Fox News is not really a news network. The Daily Show has successfully made that point for several years.

It's really not news. It's pushing a point of view. And the bigger thing is that other news organizations like yours ought not to treat them that way, and we're not going to treat them that way. We're going to appear on their shows. We're going to participate but understanding that they represent a point of view."

The White House attack on Fox News has forced the network to make laughable arguments about how tough they were on President George W. Bush. Brit Hume and Bill O'Reilly claim the network held Bush accountable for mistakes in Iraq.

"I haven't seen any evidence of GOP intrusion," O'Reilly said.

What about Fox News passing Senate Republican Communications Center talking points as actual reporting? How about Fox News saying, "All-Out Civil War in Iraq: Could It Be a Good Thing?" Fox News does not do investigative journalism. The running joke is the network worker bees marched to John Moody's orders.

From: John Moody
Date: 4/6/2004

The events in Iraq Tuesday are going to be the top story, unless and until something else (or worse) happens. Err on the side of doing too much Iraq rather than not enough. Do not fall into the easy trap of mourning the loss of US lives and asking out loud why are we there? The US is in Iraq to help a country brutalized for 30 years protect the gains made by Operation Iraqi Freedom and set it on the path to democracy. Some people in Iraq don't want that to happen. That is why American GIs are dying. And what we should remind our viewers.

MoveOn.org is running a petition asking Democrats to stay off Fox News.

Joel Award: Peggy Noonan

It is time to give out the Joel Award. The award goes any celebrity, pundit, blogger or politician that purposely contradicts himself or herself.

The Joel Award goes to Peggy Noonan. In 1998, Noonan urged the impeachment of Bill Clinton because "no man is above" the rule of law.

"The Democrats had long labeled the impeachment debate a distraction from the urgent business of a great nation. But the Republicans argued that the pursuit of justice is the business of a great nation. In winning this point, they caught the falling flag, producing a triumph for the rule of law, a reassertion of the belief that no man is above it, and a rebuke for an arrogance that had grown imperial,"

Noonan's love of the law gets thrown under the bus when it comes to the Bush administration torturing detainees. Nonnan's comments on This Week were sickening.

Noonan: Oh I have reservations about all this. It's hard for me to look at a great nation issuing these documents and sending them out to the world and thinking oh much good will come of that. Sometimes in life you wanna' just keep walkin'. History has changed. It does change. We have a new administration, a new way. Sometimes I think just keep walkin'. Don't always be issuing papers and reports.

Hat tip to Andrew Sullivan.

Ohh That Smell

George Stephanopoulos asks what is the GOP plan for dealing with global warming. House Minority Leader John Boehner declared talk about greenhouse emissions "almost comical." Boehner's scientific prove that greenhouses gases are not man made or a threat to the environment is cow farts.

"The idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, you know when they do what they do you've got more carbon dioxide."

Boehner is reduced to using cow farts to support his pro-bussiness anti-environment stance. Boehner's argument isn't even new. Scientists have attempted to measure how much methane a cow release. Below is a photo a a plastic tank strapped onto a cow's back. You can guess where the hose goes.



The Environmental Protection Agency wrote, "According to scientists, atmospheric build-up of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases as a result of human activities is changing the composition of the Earth's atmosphere and tending to warm the planet."

* Human activities are changing the composition of Earth's atmosphere. Increasing levels of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere since pre-industrial times are well-documented and understood.
* The atmospheric buildup of CO2 and other greenhouse gases is largely the result of human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels.
* An “unequivocal” warming trend of about 1.0 to 1.7°F occurred from 1906-2005. Warming occurred in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and over the oceans (IPCC, 2007).
* The major greenhouse gases emitted by human activities remain in the atmosphere for periods ranging from decades to centuries. It is therefore virtually certain that atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases will continue to rise over the next few decades.
* Increasing greenhouse gas concentrations tend to warm the planet.

We must find clearer fuel. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is encouraging the private sector to invest in wind, solar and wave power. A wind farm in St Lucie County is in the works. The plan has been put on hold because the potential site is near beachfront property. Florida alternative energy companies are leaping at the opportunity Crist has given. There is money to be made in creative forms of energy. Boehner and other Republicans are firmly embedded into Exxon Mobil lobbying money.

Obama Will Lose

The Republican Nantional Convention has been very good to John McCain. He is ahead in national polls.

ABC/Washington Post poll

McCain 49 percent
Obama 47 percent

CBS poll

McCain 46 percent
Obama 44 percent

Hotline/Diageo poll

McCain 44 percent
Obama 44 percent

Daily Show host Jon Stewart made fun of the stupidity of Barack Obama, having speakers at DNC, constantly say nice things about John McCain. Speakers at the RNC hammered Barack Obama. The strategy paid off. Obama was given the chance to hammer Palin on ABC's This Week and came off weak. Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen was amazed by Obama's horrible performance.

Stephanopoulos vainly tried for some genuine reaction. In choosing Palin, did John McCain get someone who met the minimum test of being "capable of being president"? Everyone in America knows the answer to that. They know McCain picked someone so unqualified she has been hiding from the media because a question to her is like kryptonite to what's-his-name. But did Obama say anything like that? Here are his exact words: "Well, you know, I'll let you ask John McCain when he's on ABC." Boy, Palin will never get over that.

And how about this silly business that she's qualified for the presidency because she's commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard? Another softball. Another slow one, right down the middle. Obama reared back . . . and told Stephanopoulos that those questions should come from the media: "It's going to be your job and. . . ." Pathetic.

What Obama does not understand is that he is being Swift-boated. The term does not apply to a mere smear. It is bolder, more outrageous than that. It means going straight at your opponent's strength and maligning it. This is what was done in 2004 to John Kerry, who had commanded a Swift boat in Vietnam. Kerry had won three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star and emerged from the war a certified hero. It was that record that his opponents attacked, a tactic Kerry thought so ludicrous that he at first ignored it. The record shows that he lost the election.

The Christian Obama placed his foot in his mouth. George Stephanopoulos saved Obama from viewers believing he was a Muslim. That hasn't stopped conservatives from using the gaffe as a Youtube moment. Obama should know better than make such a foolish error on national television.



Palin has baggage and is afraid to talk to the media. If Obama successfully attacks her record then the election is over. Obama's first attack on Palin was lame beyond words.

"I know the governor of Alaska has been saying she's change, and that's great," Obama said. "She's a skillful politician. But, you know, when you've been taking all these earmarks when it's convenient, and then suddenly you're the champion anti-earmark person, that's not change. Come on! I mean, words mean something, you can't just make stuff up."

Obama is telling voters that Palin can't flip flop on earmarks beacuse "words matter." Where has Obama been the last eight years? Words don't matter to the Republicans. They attack his wife and patriotism. Yet, he still refuses to take the kid gloves off.

Obama is going to lose this election. He has gotten too cocky and is a horrible finisher. There is a reason he lost 9 of the 16 last states to Hillary Clinton. Change only happens if you can govern. Obama believes change is being the nicest campaigner. Naivete is not a campaign strategy.

Shameless

I have mentioned before that John McCain's recent about face on offshore drilling is because he needs the oil industry, in order to keep up with Barack Obama's funraising. the oil and gas industry contributed $1,039,768 to the McCain campaign. McCain's proposed holiday gas tax relief is another give away to the industry. The Maverick's explanation of how he would keep the gas and oil industry from pocketing the break is hysterical.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Not a single economist in the country said it’d work.

MCCAIN: Yes. And there’s no economist in the country that knows very well the low-income American who drives the furthest, in the oldest automobile, that sometimes can’t even afford to go to work.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But they all say that . . . the oil companies, the gas companies are going to absorb … any reduction.

MCCAIN: … they say that. But one, it didn’t happen before, and two, we wouldn’t let it happen. We wouldn’t let it — Americans wouldn’t let them absorb that.

STEPHANOPOULOS: How would you prevent that?

MCCAIN: We would make them shamed into it. We, of course, know how to — American public opinion. And we would penalize them, if necessary. But they wouldn’t. They would pass it on.

McCain isn't going to change the tax code. Although, you really couldn't stop oil companies from profiting from a tax break. Paying less taxes is the point of a tax break. McCain invented a new form of trickle down economics. We now have shame economics. Does McCain view the American people has a homeless person bumming for change? The Less Than Straight Talker comes off as seriously elitist.

McCain's shameless pandering to the oil industry knows no bounds.

Bloggers and Journalists Slam ABC News

Several noted members of the lefty blogosphere sent a letter to ABC News criticizing the questions asked by Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos.

***

We, the undersigned, deplore the conduct of ABC's George Stephanopoulos and Charles Gibson at the Democratic Presidential debate on April 16. The debate was a revolting descent into tabloid journalism and a gross disservice to Americans concerned about the great issues facing the nation and the world. This is not the first Democratic or Republican presidential debate to emphasize gotcha questions over real discussion. However, it is, so far, the worst.

For 53 minutes, we heard no question about public policy from either moderator. ABC seemed less interested in provoking serious discussion than in trying to generate cheap shot sound-bites for later rebroadcast. The questions asked by Mr. Stephanopoulos and Mr. Gibson were a disgrace, and the subsequent attempts to justify them by claiming that they reflect citizens' interest are an insult to the intelligence of those citizens and ABC's viewers. Many thousands of those viewers have already written to ABC to express their outrage.

The moderators' occasional later forays into substance were nearly as bad. Mr. Gibson's claim that the government can raise revenues by cutting capital gains tax is grossly at odds with what taxation experts believe. Both candidates tried, repeatedly, to bring debate back to the real problems faced by ordinary Americans. Neither moderator allowed them to do this.

We're at a crucial moment in our country's history, facing war, a terrorism threat, recession, and a range of big domestic challenges. Large majorities of our fellow Americans tell pollsters they're deeply worried about the country's direction. In such a context, journalists moderating a debate--who are, after all, entrusted with free public airwaves--have a particular responsibility to push and engage the candidates in serious debate about these matters. Tough, probing questions on these issues clearly serve the public interest. Demands that candidates make pledges about a future no one can predict or excessive emphasis on tangential "character" issues do not. This applies to candidates of both parties.

Neither Mr. Gibson nor Mr. Stephanopoulos lived up to these responsibilities. In the words of Tom Shales of the Washington Post, Mr. Gibson and Mr. Stephanopoulos turned in "shoddy, despicable performances." As Greg Mitchell of Editor and Publisher describes it, the debate was a "travesty." We hope that the public uproar over ABC's miserable showing will encourage a return to serious journalism in debates between the Democratic and Republican nominees this fall. Anything less would be a betrayal of the basic responsibilities that journalists owe to their public.

Spencer Ackerman, The Washington Independent
Eric Alterman, City University of New York
Dean Baker, The American Prospect Online
Steven Benen, The Carpetbagger Report
Julie Bergman Sender, Balcony Films
Ari Berman, The Nation
Brian Beutler, The Media Consortium
Michael Berube, Crooked Timber, Pennsylvania State University
Joel Bleifuss, In These Times
Sam Boyd, The American Prospect
Lakshmi Chaudry, In These Times
Joe Conason, Journalist and Author
Brad DeLong, Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal and UC Berkeley
Kevin Drum, The Washington Monthly
Henry Farrell, Crooked Timber, George Washington University
James Galbraith, University of Texas at Austin
Todd Gitlin, Columbia University, TPM Cafe
Merrill Goozner (formerly Chicago Tribune)
Ilan Goldenberg, The National Security Network
Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films
Christopher Hayes, The Nation
Don Hazen, Alternet
Michael Kazin, Georgetown University
Ed Kilgore, The Democratic Strategist
Richard Kim, The Nation
Ezra Klein, The American Prospect
Mark Kleiman, UCLA/The Reality Based Community
Scott McLemee, Inside Higher Ed
Ari Melber, The Nation
Rick Perlstein, Campaign for America's Future
Katha Pollitt, The Nation
David Roberts, Grist
Thomas Schaller, Columnist, The Baltimore Sun
Mark Schmitt, The New America Foundation
Adele Stan, The Media Consortium
Jonathan Stein, Mother Jones Magazine
Mark Thoma, The Economist's View
Michael Tomasky, The Guardian
Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks
Tracy Van Slyke, The Media Consortium
Kai Wright, The Root

ABC News Presidential Debate

I am watching the replay of the Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton debate on the C-SPAN website. All I can say is what a shitty series of questions asked by Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos. This is all questions about Bosnia sniper and the Rev. Wright. It makes for bad gotcha journalism and boring television.

Instead of questions about the economy, Charles Gibson asks Obama why he doesn't wear an American flag lapel pin. The debate was devoid of policy.

Asked to defend the fact that policy didn't come up for the first 40 or so minutes of the debate, Stephanopoulos said:

"We decided to focus at the top on the issues that had been at the center of the debate since the last debate. Everything we brought up in that front section had not come up since the last debate. And they all focused on the same theme -- which candidate would be a stronger Democratic candidate in Novembber."

"This is the core question for the campaigns, and a lot of Democratic voters right now. That's why we decided to lead with it."

Update: Columnist Rick Horowitz lampoons the dabate.

Tom Schaller wished that Hillary didn't follow her "lesser political instincts."

Update: Sean Hannity is feeding Stephanopoulos questions.

HANNITY: There are two questions that I don’t think anybody has asked Barack Obama, and I don’t know if this is going to be on your list tomorrow. One is – the only time he’s ever been asked about his association with Bill Ayers, the unrepentant terrorist from the Weather Underground who on 9/11 of all days in the New York Times was saying “I don’t regret setting bombs. I don’t think we did enough.” When asked about it by the Politico, David Axelrod said that they have a friendly relationship, and that they had done a number of speeches together and that they sat on a board together. Is that a question you might ask?

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, I’m taking notes right now.

Here are lowlights of the debate.



Update: The Washington Post trashes Charles Gibson.

Stay the Course (Or Maybe Not)

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A classic example of how President Bush will deny saying things he is on-record saying. This case it is staying the course in Iraq. Bush told ABC News George Stephanopoulos the administration never had a stay the course policy with Iraq. The liberal media, also known as the official White House web site, website has this quote.

And my message today to those in Iraq is: We'll stay the course; we'll complete the job.

Bush prides himself with staying on-message. The problem is when the message is unpopular, the President feels he has to deny things he said to win support of the American people. He probably considers that good politics. It is the reason why his credibility on Iraq is in shambles.